B of the Bang ends with a whimper as £2m sculpture is sold for £17k scrap

It cost nearly £2million, was branded a ‘magnificent artistic statement’ and was meant to symbolise a bold new beginning for Manchester. But today we can reveal that the core of the controversial B of the Bang sculpture was melted down for scrap metal – raising £17,000 for the city’s taxpayers.

GET SET, GO!: Sprinter Linford Christie – who inspired B of the Bang – at its launch

It cost nearly £2million, was branded a ‘magnificent artistic statement’ and was meant to symbolise a bold new beginning for Manchester.

But today we can reveal that the core of the controversial B of the Bang sculpture was melted down for scrap metal – raising £17,000 for the city’s taxpayers.

Meanwhile the artwork’s 180 spikes – named after a quote from former Olympic sprint champion Linford Christie and meant to symbolise the burst of energy as an athlete shoots out of the blocks – have been lying in storage at a secret location for almost three years.

B of the Bang, commissioned to commemorate the 2002 Commonwealth Games, was unveiled two years late at a cost of £1.72m in the shadow of what is now Manchester City’s stadium.

The 184ft structure was eventually taken down in 2009 after a success of spikes fell off.

Furious council bosses – who had paid for the sculpture from the public purse – eventually reached an out-of-court settlement with designers Thomas Heatherwick Studio Limited and subcontractors who worked on the sculpture. The deal saw £1.7m refunded.

Since then the core has been recycled, with the town hall receiving £17,000 for the metal.

The spikes remain in storage at no cost to the council.

It is understood they are being kept in the hope a donor will come forward to pay for the sculpture’s resurrection – but that is thought unlikely.

Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese has vowed that no more taxpayers’ money will be spent on the doomed artwork.

A spokesman for Manchester council said today: "Thomas Heatherwick’s B of the Bang was a magnificent artistic statement and it was regrettable that technical problems undermined that vision.

"As was widely reported in 2008, the council reached an out-of-court settlement for £1.7m with Thomas Heatherwick Studio and three sub-contractors employed by them in respect of these technical issues.

"The sculpture was dismantled in 2009 and the core was recycled, with the council receiving almost £17,000 for the metal.

"The spikes remain in storage at no cost to the council."

Mr Heatherwick said: “I am proud of B of the Bang. Although there were structural issues with the project, these could have been resolved.

"At the recent opening of an exhibition of my studio's work at London's Victoria and Albert Museum that has a particular highlight on the project, the Academy Award winning Manchester born film director Danny Boyle gave the opening speech and made an impassioned plea for it to be rebuilt.

"I'm still hopeful that one day we can work with the people of the city and Manchester City Council to bring the structure back.”

B for Big Bother ...

Planning permission was given for B of the Bang in January 2003.

Designed by former Manchester Polytechnic student Tom Heatherwick, right, officials hoped it would become a landmark.

It was scheduled to be unveiled in July 2003 to provide a lasting reminder of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Later that year we revealed the estimated cost had spiralled from £750,000 to £1.4m.

Thieves stole a 30ft section in August 2004. By November, with the sculpture still not finished, some joked it should have been named ‘G of the Bang’ and in January of 2005 a spike fell off days before it was due to be unveiled.

Later that month, Linford Christie attended the glitzy launch event. But by March the sculpture was closed for 10 weeks in a bid to stop its spikes moving and in May firefighters had to cut one free over fears it could fall.

A slip road next to the sculpture on Ashton New Road and Alan Turing Way was closed for a year amid safety concerns.

In May 2006, engineers began removing nine spikes to test them for signs of stress damage. In October 2007, we revealed council chiefs were to sue the makers for £2m.

In November 2008, an out-of-court settlement was reached which saw £1.7m handed over to the council by the architects.

Eventually, in February 2009, work began to take B of the Bang down and in August of that year the final spike was removed.

Previous Articles

Greater Manchester is reaping a £1.2bn transport bonanza thanks to a ground-breaking deal by civic bosses. Leaders of the region’s 10 councils drew up a masterplan three years ago in the wake of the doomed congestion-charge bid.

Our newspapers include the flagship Manchester Evening News - Britain's largest circulating
regional daily with up to 130,485 copies - as well as 20 local weekly titles across Greater
Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire.

Free morning newspaper, The Metro, published every weekday, is also part of our portfolio,
delivering more than 200,000 readers in Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Business Week is the region’s number one provider of business news andfeatures, targeting a bespoke business audience with 12,687 copies every Thursday.

Every month, M.E.N. Media’s print products reach 2.2 million adults, spanning from Accrington
in the north to Macclesfield in the south.